Domaine La Haute Févrie Sur Lie Muscadet Sèvre et Maine 2020 (Loire) - Wine Review

After a one year hiatus, it's great to see this lovely organic Muscadet made with the Melon de Bourgogne varietal come back to Ontario. I enjoyed the 2018 Domaine La Haute Févrie Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Sur Lie almost two years ago to the day, and for tonight's wine review I bring you the 2020 vintage that arrives at the LCBO this weekend as part of the July 16 LCBO VINTAGES Release.

Sébastien Branger produces this lovely Muscadet. He is an independent winemaker situated in the heart of the Muscadet Sèvre et Maine appellation, 18 kilometres southeast of Nantes, at his family's estate - Domaine Haute Févrie. Sébastien represents the fourth generation of a family of winemakers who have been carefully tending their vines to ensure that they produce the very best grapes possible. Today, Domaine Haute Févrie has 26 hectares of estate vines and practices organic and biodynamic viticulture in order to craft wines that are pure to their origins and reflect the soils where they are grown. Sébastien has great respect for the vine and the environment and does not use any chemical fertilizers, while also controlling yields and harvesting all of their fruit by hand.

The 2020 edition from their Classiques range is crafted with the Melon de Bourgogne varietal from young vines between 15 to 35 years old grown organically on the estate. The vines are located on slopes with mostly gneiss sub-soils. The grapes were hand-harvested and aged on its lees for 7 months prior to bottling.

Leading into the 2020 growing season, the winter was the warmest ever recorded in the Loire Valley, with periods of intense rain that left the soils fully replenished. March and April were alternately warm and cool, with budbreak occurring earlier than average. Late April and May remained warm with flowering occurring earlier than normal. July began cool, but turned very warm, while August was hot. Harvest occurred after the much-welcomed rains at the end of August and throughout the fine September weather. Overall, 2020 was an excellent vintage throughout the Loire Valley with grapes showing superb concentration, freshness, and poise. Let's see how this 2020 Muscadet is tasting tonight...

Tasting Note:

DOMAINE LA HAUTE FÉVRIE SUR LIE MUSCADET SÈVRE ET MAINE 2020 - AC, Loire, France (#390625) (XD) - $15.95
100% Melon de Bourgogne. Organic. Fresh, intense aromas of ripe lemon, citrus, white floral, golden apple, and leesy minerals with a twist of honey in an elegant profile. Impressively concentrated on the dry, medium-full bodied, and crisp palate with lemon citrus, apple, grapefruit, and oyster shell mineral flavours. Tangy on the mid-palate with crisp, fresh acidity. Pure notes of oyster shell mineral linger on the long, succulent finish. Highly recommended buy! Score: 90+ pts

Other lovely wines by Sébastien Branger are available through their Agent - Connexion Oenophilia.